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Europe's deep freeze, which has cost more than 60 lives over the past week, continued to wreak havoc early on Saturday as the shivering continent awaited a sliver of weekend respite from a brutal Siberian cold front.

After heavy snowfall and deadly blizzards lashed Europe, conditions marginally improved in some regions on Friday -- although temperatures generally remained sub-zero, forcing more major delays on roads, railways and at airports.

But Britain's Met Office said the Arctic temperatures were set to rise.

"After the extreme weather many of us have seen recently many will see conditions ease a little through the next few days," it said.

In France, the forecast this weekend was for rain rather than the kind of heavy snowfall that has blanketed vast tracts of Europe.

The deadly chill has been caused by weather blowing in from Siberia. British media have dubbed the front "the Beast from the East," while the Dutch have gone for the "Siberian Bear" and the Swedes plumped for the "Snow Cannon".

Over the past week, the freezing conditions have claimed more than 60 lives, according to an AFP toll, including 23 in Poland, seven in Slovakia, six in the Czech Republic and five in Lithuania. Other deaths were recorded in Spain, Italy, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway.

western French town of Saintes. Police suspect he died of hypothermia, but could not be sure.

In Austria meanwhile, five migrants abandoned by smugglers were rescued from a motorway near the city of Graz on Friday, some of them walking barefoot in sub-zero temperatures, according to police.

Switzerland has seen the mercury plummet to records of up to -40C (-40F) in the ongoing blizzard, which has even covered usually balmy Mediterranean beaches with a blanket of snow.

Geneva's busy airport announced it had re-opened shortly after midday Friday "despite the unfavourable meteorological conditions", having warned earlier it faced staying shut for a second consecutive day as snowstorms continued to lash the Swiss city. Airport authorities warned, however, of further "delays and cancellations".

Italy was also still stuck in sub-zero temperatures with a number of major roads blocked because of snow and black ice as forecasters warned the country's northern and central regions would see little immediate improvement. Many schools remained closed and local authorities told people to remain indoors unless they urgently needed to travel.

Elsewhere in Europe, Serbia and Croatia saw some improvement but two people died overnight in Poland as temperatures plunged to a low of -27C (-16.6F). They were set to remain as low as -17C across the day in some areas even as forecasters spoke of a relative weekend thaw.

Folldal, a small village in central Norway, saw a record European low for recent days of -42C during the night. Even so, residents used to harsh conditions were sanguine.